Man turns self in after razor attack on woman

A 48-year-old man was charged yesterday after allegedly slashing a woman's throat with a razor blade.

At 6:01 p.m. Saturday, Ester Waiolama, 60, had her throat slashed at Date and Laau streets.

Waiolama described her attacker as a heavy-set man with a white T-shirt. She was taken to the Queen's Medical Center in serious condition.

About eight hours later, police received a call from a man who wanted to turn himself in for allegedly slashing a woman's throat. Police went to the suspect's apartment on Date Street.

Jay Kalahele, wearing a white T-shirt, answered the door, and allegedly admitted to slashing Waiolama's throat. Kalahele also told police that he threw the razor blade in a nearby stream, court documents state.

Kalahele was charged yesterday with attempted first-degree assault. His bail was set at $100,000. Kalahele has several prior convictions.

In 1979, he was found guilty of felony auto theft and spent five years in prison. In 1985, he was sentenced for misdemeanor criminal trespassing and spent a year in prison.

In 1987, he was found guilty of two counts of third-degree criminal property damage and was sentenced to a year's probation. And in 1989, he was found guilty of two counts of second-degree assault, third-degree assault and first-degree burglary. He was sentenced to 10 years.